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German Ministers Quit Over BSE
Two German ministers at the heart of the country's growing crisis over mad cow disease have announced their resignations.
Health Minister Andrea Fischer and Agriculture Minister Karl-Heinz Funke had faced accusations of complacency over mad cow disease and its human equivalent, vCJD.
Germany had always insisted its cattle were BSE-free, but 10 cases have been discovered since testing started last autumn, sparking a collapse in consumer confidence.
In an emotional news conference broadcast live on German television, Ms Fischer said she had offered her resignation to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in an attempt to try to restore consumer confidence.
"I hope that by resigning I can contribute to an end of the revelations and help promote a return to business as usual," said Ms Fischer, a member of the Green Party.
She also reflected on the irony of a Green Party minister resigning due to the mistakes of the intensive industrialisation of farming.
The problem, she said, lay with the pressure for lower and lower prices for food.
Her replacement is rumoured to be Baerbel Hoehn, the tough Green Party environment minister from North Rhine-Westphalia - though that has not been confirmed. She argued constantly against the relaxation of the ban on British beef.
Ms Fischer denied that her resignation could lead to a collapse of the governing red-green coalition itself, but Mr Funke's resignation offers the possibility of a wider reshuffle of cabinet jobs.
Though neither minister admitted to being sacked, Mr Schroeder's prompt and terse statement accepting their decisions left little doubt that the chancellor had taken the initiative.
The resignations came only two days after the two ministers had proposed new measures to tackle BSE.
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